Archive for the ‘If You Like…’ Category

Before You Exit. If you haven’t heard of them before, commit that name to memory. Like other bands we love here at StorkMusic, Before You Exit is from Florida. The band is made up of three adorably talented brothers: Connor, Riley and Toby McDonough. Check out their Katy Perry ‘Roar’ cover below!

The band released a new EP February of this year, which you can buy here! If you like Allstar Weekend and All Time Low, make sure to give the boys a listen. BYE just finished touring with Cody Simpson and Ryan Beatty. We see big things in their future, get their EP so you can tell everyone else you knew about them first.

So to all of you who are saddened by the end of Warped Tour, good news! Former and current Warped Tour bands All Time Low, The Summer Set, The Downtown Fiction and Hit The Lights are embarking on a tour sure to draw allllll the ladies out in droves probably waving bras and marriage proposals this fall. The tour will probably also attract jealous boyfriends of said bra-weilding, screaming ladies and closet fans who pretend they were dragged along. It’s OKAY to be in love with all of them…Right? The All Time Low has a Hustler club presale with a CD preorder. Check out the dates and try to contain your excitement when you see they’re coming to your town.

Arizona band, RadioDriveBy, played a show at The Fixx this past Saturday, pleasing a bevy of RDB fans with their free concert. The band is playing an EP release show this coming weekend at The Martini Ranch with This Century, Austin Gibbs and Sweettalker.

Big thanks to our friend Kyra for taking wonderful photos for us, make sure to check out some of her photos!

If you haven’t checked out this band before, make sure you do! If you like other big Arizona talents like The Maine and The Summer Set, you’ll probably love these guys too.

Pick up a copy of their new EP when it drops and make sure to look them up on iTunes, like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter!

Do you have any other bands you think we should cover on our site? Send us an email or tweet us!

Tired of people raving over how great Mac Miller and Sam Adams are? How about you take a listen to an up and coming college student from the University of Wisconsin-Madison? Stork Music got a chance to snag an interview with the talented rapper—make sure to check him out on Facebook and download his album for free!

Q: Who are you?!
A: Hello, hello. My name’s Sandy Harkness, but my stage name is Cofax. I’m originally from the Milwaukee, WI area but I attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Q: When did you start being involved with music?

A: I’ve been doing music my entire life. At age 6 I begged my parents for a violin even though we had grand piano already. I stuck with that for about seven years until I realized that it wasn’t too impressive to 13 year old girls that I knew how to play ten different minuets. So, I picked up the guitar and messed with that for a couple years but never really put in the effort it took to become great. It just wasn’t my jam, ya know? High school soon followed and that’s the first time I picked up the mic, but it was as a joke. My friend Josh and I started a group called the “The Mentality” and we made a few gag songs that sophomoric freshman in high school thought was funny. Looking back, it was pretty bogus, but it was also the beginning of my songwriting–so I guess it was a good way to start. I picked up the pen again just last fall and found that I had something to say and I was pretty good at saying it.

Q: Who/what are your inspirations?

A: Well, it’s definitely rap music, but I’d like to think it stands alone in terms of originality. I don’t try to emulate anyone and do my best to spit from the heart. So that’s where I think I’m most different from other rappers. I’m not here for money or fame, but rather to just make something that is true and that is mine. You won’t hear anything in my rhymes that doesn’t pertain to me, and I feel like that’s not true for a lot of other artists.

Q: How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard it before? What makes you different from other artists?

A: Well, it’s definitely rap music, but I’d like to think it stands alone in terms of originality. I don’t try to emulate anyone and do my best to spit from the heart. So that’s where I think I’m most different from other rappers. I’m not here for money or fame, but rather to just make something that is true and that is mine. You won’t hear anything in my rhymes that doesn’t pertain to me, and I feel like that’s not true for a lot of other artists.

Q: What’s your songwriting process like?

A: Most rhymers use a pad and a pen. I use my Macbook, which is kind of weird but I find it easier to revise my lyrics. Plus my handwriting is bogus. When it comes to sitting down and writing a song, I usually start by listening to the instrumental 5-10 times so I can get a real feel for it. Then, I kind of haphazardly start rhyming and writing what I feel. A beat always makes me feel a certain way, so I want to write to that emotion. From there, I just go. I usually write a 16 bar verse to start, then a 4 or 8 bar hook and then a few more 16’s. I like my hook to be dictated by the first verse. Then I can write my next verses based off of those two components. I’m not sure of this is an unorthodox way of writing, but this is how I’ve done it since the beginning.

Q: What is your hope for the future?

A: I’ve just recently given up on the idea of working a 9-5 desk job. I know this is where the money is, but it’s definitely not where my heart is. If music pans out, great. But I have my creative hat in a lot of different circles. I own my own clothing line and that is starting to pick up steam. I also write a lot and plan on starting a novella soon. So I guess, it’s my hope that one of these creative outlets turns into something bigger than myself. I want to create something that other people can enjoy, whatever that may be.

Q: Who would be your dream collaboration, and why?

A: I’d love to collaborate with Zion I. If you don’t know them, go download their discography and give it a listen. It’s a collaborative fashioned much like the way Atmosphere is with a producer and an MC. Amp Live has to be one of the greatest beat makers ever, and he doesn’t get nearly as much love as he should. Zumbi is the rapper in the group and his flow is crazy, but it’s his lyrics that make him great–“With or without a record label my rhymes forever stable on the premise.” To share a stage with them would be insane.

Q: What’s something strange or interesting about you that most people don’t know?

A: My real name is Alexander, but have gone by Sandy my entire life. I got a lot of flak when I was little for it, and I still do from the more ignorant of the people I meet. Whatever, I think it’s raw.

Q: Any closing statements?

A: We all have strife and tribulations, one way or another. So for the individual, remember that you are not alone. Keep your fitted’s brim to the sky and everything will be groovy.

Although it’s easy to become stuck listening to the same bands on repeat, it can just as easily become extremely boring. Once you’ve gotten to the point where all of your bands are listed as “similar’ to each other it can be difficult to leave that familiar circle of bands. Finding new bands not only prevents you from becoming bored, it expands your music horizon, allows you to find and follow the growth of smaller, unknown bands, and opens up new concert opportunities. If searching “bands similar to..” on the internet just isn’t cutting it for you anymore, these next few tips are vital to your music life.

1. Ask your friends:

Asking around “the old fashioned way” is a method for discovering new music that many overlook. Simply asking your friends, or even strangers, what they’re listening to can help you find new bands, or even rediscover old ones. Friends who have similar taste in music may have found bands you haven’t had the time to. In addition, they probably got music suggestions from their other friends, who got music suggestions from their friends. By asking other people for recommendations, you open doors to many different musical influences. Asking your friends for new music, as well as sharing what you’ve found with them, will help you to constantly update your music collection.

2. Don’t ignore the suggestions from YouTube or iTunes

When jamming to your favorite bands on YouTube or iTunes, divert your eyes to view the suggestions. Even though the suggestions often contain bands you already listen to one have heard of, clicking on them can lead you to other suggestions and so on until you end up with a band you’ve never heard of. Experimenting with the suggestions is a simple way to browse bands that are related to one you like.

3. Use the right sites

Google searching your favorite bands is only so efficient, but using specific sites that generate music suggestions just for you can be quite handy.Make sure to try (all mentioned sites can be used for free)

Lastfm.com is extremely user friendly. Search for your favorite band, album, or song, and instantly find information on it. For the artists, you can find lists of similar artists as well as a short bio. Each similar artist is also ranked in similarity. (super similarity to lower similarity). A radio can also be played, similar to on Pandora, of your selected artists and artists similar to the one you selected.

On Gnoosic, all you do is enter three of your favorite bands. Then, Gnoosic provides you with band suggestions. On the suggestions, you must indicate whether you like, dislike, or don’t know the band Gnoosic is recommending. Many of the suggestions are unfamiliar, so Gnoosic does a respectable job providing you with truly new music.

Music map is a great tool for visualizing how similar the suggestions are to the desired band. You enter one band and a web of suggestions surrounds the band name you entered. The closer a band is to the band you entered, the more similar it is. Clicking on any of the suggestions changes the map to fit the new selected band.

Tuneglue is very similar to the music map. You enter a band, and click “expand” for suggestions. On any of the suggestions, you can also “expand” to find suggestions. Any suggestions that fit multiple bands will connect.

4. Don’t get stuck in a genre

If you insist on expanding your music library only within a certain realm, you won’ get very far. Nobody is saying you have to attend a country ho-down if you’re enthralled by the rap scene, but dabbling in other genres can yield some interesting results. To get some valuable suggestions from a different genre you can talk to friends with other music tastes, listen to different radio stations, or browse the internet.

5. Go to a random concert

Going to concerts of your favorite bands is a great time, but it also surrounds you with the same fans and bands that you’re used to. Attending a concert of a band you’ve never listened to, don’t like, or don’t know can be a beneficial experience both musically and socially. Hearing a band live fist can add an element to their music that you wouldn’t have experienced by hearing them through scratchy speakers (even if your speakers are brand-spanking-new, it is not the same a concert scenario).

6. Revisit old favorites

It is easy to get trapped in the “new” of finding new music. One simple, often overlooked, method of finding new songs is by checking out bands you already know. In all likelihood, at least one of the bands you listen to has produced something new that you aren’t aware of. It’s difficult to keep up with hundreds of bands but if you are seeking some new songs from a comfortable genre, revisit old bands.

Hopefully these tips will inspire new branches on your tree of musical interest. If you desire, submit your own suggestions on how you find great, new music.

Jamestown Story is a talented duo made up of Brandyn Anderson and Dane Schmidt. Fans of Sing It Loud and Finest Hour will be pleased to know that the twosome is made up of former members of both!

Their album, A Walk Through Time, will be available tomorrow on iTunes, so make sure you swoop by and grab a copy between your hours of Thanksgiving gluttony. Think of it as practice for your Black Friday shopping!

In the meantime, check out their website and listen to some of their music here.

Two months ago, we announced the release date of Go Radio’s deluxe edition of Lucky Street. It has finally arrived and we couldn’t be happier with all the time we waited.

After tapping my fingers and waiting in front of my computer for my pre-order to become available on iTunes, I nearly jumped out of my bed and woke my roommate with my screaming. The only plus side to living on the west coast, beside the absence of frosty car windows in the morning at this time of year, is that while it’s midnight on the east coast, it’s still early here. So what if we miss every single television show and every plot twist gets spoiled on Twitter before we even get a chance to watch the open credits…We get the Go Radio album without waiting until the wee hours of the morning to listen to it! As of this point, Go Radio’s eight bonus tracks have been played over two-hundred and ten times on my iTunes alone—not counting the iPhone plays or the times they’ve been repeated in my head. That might just be my personal affinity for Go Radio showing through though. Now let’s get down to brass tacks.

‘Ready or Not,’ the first of the bonus tracks on Lucky Street (Deluxe Edition), is a polished rock track with carefully structured layers and specific elements adding to the overall sound of the finished piece. The track is probably the most structured of the bonus features next to the ‘Rolling In The Deep’ cover, and the peppier ‘Worth All The While’ but in no way is that a bad thing. ‘Ready or Not’ feeds any thirst for a louder, head-nod worthy, guitar and drum backed sound. As always, the opening track always offers a sample of universally relatable lyrics to come.

Contrasting the stentorian bonus opener is an almost conversational ‘Stay Gone.’ Close your eyes and it sounds like an intimate Go Radio concert—a noisy little cafe, a wooden stool on a landing in the corner, an acoustic guitar and heartfelt lyrics echoing above the chatter. The song offers a nice change of pace from the emotionless, auto tuned, meaningless fodder that often fills the top charts but falls into the same realm as fan favorite ‘Goodnight Moon,’ which also makes an appearance as a bonus, heartwrenching acoustic track. It’s more than obvious Go Radio’s lyrics are a little more genuine and heartfelt than say LMFAO, no matter how much they may believe in the fact that they’re “sexy and they know it,” and it shows in all of their tracks.

The only thing that could possibly make those lyrics and masterful instrumental supports better would be Jason Lancaster’s raw vocals. The honesty of the lyrics really shine through with the raspy, raw, yet impeccably delivered vocals. Let’s not forget the vocal support, equally as fervent and sincere as the lead. The minimalism, no-frills approach to ‘Thanks For Nothing,’ ‘Any Other Heart’ and ‘Forever My Father’ make the meaningful lyrics the focal point. All we can say here at Stork Music is that we can’t wait for anything and everything else Go Radio to be released.

By the way, check out their newly released music video for ‘Goodnight Moon!’

Also this interview we did with Alex from Go Radio at Warped Tour this summer!